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No. 62l,440. Patented Mar. 21, I899. H. n. B jILEY'sL 'H. B. BUDGETT. TOY PISTOL AND GAME APPARATUS.

(Application filed. Dec. 20, 1897.) v (No Model.) 4 Sheets-Sheet I.

In venlors f/iornqy Mina s05 W {604% W M No. 621,440. Patelited Mar. 2|, I899;

H. D. BAILEY 81. H. B. BUDGETT.

TOY PISTOL AND GAME APPARATUS.

(Applicatiol; filed Deg. 20, 1897.)

(No Model.) 4 Shawls-sheet 3.

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n.- n. BAILEY & H. B. BUDGETT. TOY PISTOL AND GAME APPARATUS.

(Application filed Dec. 20, 1897.)

(N0 Model.)

4 Sheets-Sheet 4.

NITE' STATES PATENT Fries.

HARRY DORNING BAILEY AND HARRY BROGDEN BUDGETT, OF LONDON, ENGLAND.

TO-Y PISTOL AND GAME APPARATUS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent N 0. 621,440, dated March 21, 1899.

Application filed December 20,1897. Serial No. 662,697. (No model.)

To aZZ whom it may concern.-

Be it known that we, HARRY DORNING BAI- LEY, engineer, of Norbury, Grove Park Gardens, Ohiswick, London, in the county of MiddleseX, and HARRY BROGDEN BUDGETT, mining engineer, of 26 Great St. Helens, in the city of London, England, subjects of the Queen of Great Britain, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Toy Pistols and Game Apparatus Connected Therewith; and we do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the same. v Our invention relates to toy pistols and game apparatus connected therewith, and has for its object to provide an improved construction of pistol for projecting balls against a target or a number of skittles or figures or the like.

Another object of our invention is to provide means whereby the spent ball will be automatically returned to the pistol, so as to reload the same after every shot.

A further object of our invention is to construct an improved apparatus for resetting the skittles or figures in an upright position when the pistol is used in connection with this particular description of game.

Our invention will be clearly understood from the following description, in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, which illustrate our improved apparatus for playing the game of skittles.

Figure 1 is a side elevation, partly sectional, of a complete apparatus. Fig. 2 is a plan of the same. Fig. 3 is a sectional view of the pistol and adjoining parts. Fig. 4 is a horizontal section on the line t 4, Fig. 3. Fig. 5 is a rear elevation of the hammer-spindle with the parts mounted. thereon. Fig. 6 is a section on the line 6 6, Fig. 4. Fig. 7 is a section on the line 7 7, Fig. 4, with a vertical section of the pistol-pivot added. Fig. 8 is a side elevation showing the hammer and trigger when the former is cooked. Fig. 9 is a side elevation, and Fig. 10 a plan, of the scoop or chute through which the spentballs are conveyed to the pistol in order to reload the same. Fig. 11 is a side elevation, partly sectional, of one of the skittles. Figs. 3 to 11 are drawn to an enlarged scale.

Like letters of reference denote the same.

parts throughout the drawings.

Ais the pistol-barrel; B, the handle; 0, the trigger; D, the hammer; E, the coin-chute; F, the money-box; G, the skittle-board; H, the skittles, and I the scoop or chute for conveying the spent balls back to the pistol. The skittle-board Gis mounted upon the top plate J of a casing J, secured to the money-box F, the whole being supported upon any suitable stand, such as the pillar K. (Indicated in Fig. 1.) The plate J is inclined and is provided with a curved fence J 2 and at its lower end has an orifice J leading to the scoop I-. A cage J 4 (shown only in Figs. 1 and 2) incloses the skittles and pistol-barrel, so as to prevent the balls escaping from the apparatus.

Referring now to Figs. 3to 10 of the drawings, the main framework of the pistol, of which the barrel A, the handle B, and the scoop I form part or to which they are connected, consists of a casing L, a part L of whichincloses the coin-freed mechanism. Said casing or framework has a downwardly-proj ecting tubular portion L, the bottom part of which is of a spherical shape, as shown at L and is received within a socket F, secured on the top of the money-box. It will be seen, therefore, that the pistol, with the coin-freed mechanism and reloading-scoop, is freely supported by means of the ball-and-socket joint L F. The movement of said pistol is, however, restricted by means of a pin L screwed into the ball L which pin projects through an orifice F", of suitable size, provided in the socket F. 7 Other restraining means may be employed, if desired. A suitable amount of play is allowed between the scoop I and the fixed parts J J of the apparatus, as will be seen from the inspection of Fig. 3, in order to permit of the pistol being rocked in a vertical plane to the extent allowed by the restraining means. The forward or upper opening .of the scoop is elliptical in plan and made with a flaring mouth, as clearly shown inFigs.

'9 and 10, so that when the pistol is moved sidewise some portion of the mouth of the scoop is always below the orifice J 3 to receive the spent ball. r

The hammer D is loosely mounted upon a spindle D, supported in hearings in the easing, the movement of said hammer being restricted bya spring Dflcoiled around the spindle, one end of said spring being secured to the hammer and the other end thereof being secured to the casing. Secured to said spindle is a wheel M, provided with a slot M in its periphery and a four-armed star-wheel N, having antifrietion-rollers N, supported in the ends of its arms. These two wheels form a portion of the coin-f reed mechanism proper. On the other side of the hammer a ratchetwheel I) is firmly mounted on the spindle, which ratchet-wheel cooperates with a pawl Dipivoted at D to the hammer and controlled by means of a spring D also secured to the hammer. O is a bevel-wheel secured to the spindle D outside the ratchet-wheel D Secured to the casing L in the same plane with the spindle D and midway between the barrel A and the scoop I is a pivot P, upon which a cylinder P can revolve, and secured to said cylinder is a bevel-wheel P which engages with the bevel-wheel O. The cylinder P is provided with a suitable number of chambers P substantially cylindrical, the front ends of which are of the same diameter as the bore of the barrel A and the scoop I, opposite which each of said chambers comes in succession as the cylinder P rotates. The thickness of said cylinder is a little greater than the bore of the barrel, so that the chambers thereof will each contain a single ball of the size intended to be projected by the pistol. The rear openings of the chambers are covered by a plate L secured to the casing L, and by portions of the casing itself, an orifice L being provided at the top opposite the end of the barrel, throughwhich the front of the hammer passes when the pistol is discharged. The front of the hammer is preferably provided with a hardened plug, as shown, to take the wear. In order to prevent the balls rolling out of the upper chamber prior to the discharge of the pistol when the barrel A is depressed, said chambers are made slightly conical, the large end of the cone being at the rear, so that when the barrel is depressed to the utmost extent permitted by the device for restraining the movement of the pistol the floor of the uppermost chamber 1? will be approximately horizontal and the ball therein will remain in proper position against the orifice U to be struck by the forward end of the hammer D.

The trigger C, the tail of which projects through a slot B in the handle, is pivoted at C to the casing and can engage with a notch D in the hammer D when the latter is pulled against the force of the spring D. This will be clearly understood from Fig. 8, which shows the hammer in its cocked position. Fig. 8 also shows the tri gger-sprin g C ,Which holds the trigger in the notch of the hammer.

The coin-freed mechanism is most clearly shown in Figs. 4, 6, and 7, in which M N are bars sliding in bearings in plates L L secured to the casing. The front end of the bar M is adapted to engage in the slot M of the wheel M, and the front end of the bar N is provided with a plate N with which the rollers N of the star-wheel N engage when the spindle D is rotated. The sliding bars M and N are continuously pressed forward by means of the springs M N held between collars on their respective bars and the plate L as shown. The coin-chute E is continued inside the casing by means of two plates E E, located between the plates L L said plates being ata distance apart a little greater than the thickness of the coin the insertion of which is required to govern the operation of the mechanism. The plate N is turned at right angles and projects rearwardly through an orifice L in the plate L between the plates E, forming the sides of the coin-chute, the rear face N of said plate N being flat. Secured to the rear end of the sliding bar M is a similar plate M, which projects through an orifice L in the plate L between the sides E of the coin-chute opposite the face N of the plate N The front face M is made concave to fit the'periphery of the coin, the length of the plate being such that the greatest distance between the face M thereof and the face N when the star-wheel N and the wheel M are in the position shown in Figs. (3 and 7 is equal to the diameter of the coin. Below the bars M N the coin-chute is continued by the tube E which ultimatelydelivers the coin through the orifice E into the vertical tube L. Said vertical tube and the ball L are of such a diameter internally as will permit the coin to fall freely through the same into the money-box F.

Our improved skittle apparatus, intended for use with the pistol above described, is shown in Figs. 1, 3, and 11. To each skittle is pivotally attached in a recess H in the base thereof a rod Hflwhich can slide easily through an orifice H in the plate J and theskittleboard G. The ends of the rods 11 pass loosely through orifices in a plate 11 and are provided with lock-nuts H on the under side thereof. The plate II is connected by a link to a lever 11, pivotally supported at H from the top plate J of the casing J, the weight of said lever and plate H being sustained by the spring H Secured to the front end of the lever 11 is a flexible connecting-cord H",which passes around guide-pulleys J and isconnected to a bar Q, inclosed at the bottom of the money-box F. Said bar Q passes through an orifice F and terminates in a handle Q, being provided with a spring Q to return it to its normal position when pulled.

Having described the construction of our improved apparatus, we will now proceed to show how the same is operated.

The numberof teeth in the ratchet-wheelD being the same as the number of chambers P in the cylinder P, and the number of teeth in the bevel-wheel O and P being equal, it follows that every time the pawl D on the ICC hammer D enters a fresh tooth on the ratchet a fresh chamber will be brought opposite the rear orifice of the barrel A of the pistol. If when no coin has been inserted in the mechanism the hammer D be pulled back in the direction of the arrow, Fig. 3, the pawl D engaging with the ratchet-wheel D rotates the spindle D. Since, however, the front end of the bar M is in engagement with the notch M of the wheel M, the spindle is'prevented from rotating, except to a very small extent, and the hammer cannot be cooked. When, however, a coin of proper size is inserted in the chute E, it is caught and retained between the faces M and M of the plates M and N attached to the bars M N as shown in Figs. 6 and 7, the coin being denoted by the letter R in dot-and-dash lines. Under these circumstances the rotary movement of the spindle D, permitted by the slot M when the hammer is pulled back, will, through the agency of the star-wheel N, engaging with the plate Nipress said plate backward against the force of the spring N and the backward movement will be transmitted through the coin R and the plate M to the bar M the front end of which will thereby be withdrawn from engagement with the notch M. A further rotation of the spindle D is thereby permitted until the hammer D reaches the position shown in Fig. 8 and the trigger C engages with the notch D the ham iner being then fully cooked. The rotation of the spindle D rotates the cylinder P by means of the bevel-wheels O and P on its pivot P and brings a fresh chamber containing a ball into position at therear of the barrel A. If the trigger is now pulled, the hammer is released and moves around the spindle under the force of the spring D to its normal position and the front of said hammer strikes the ball in the uppermostchamber of the cylinder P and projects the same through the barrel A. The spent ball, falling off the skittle-board G onto the sloping plate J, rolls to the bottom of the slope, being guided, if necessary, by the fence J and finally drops through the orifice J 3 into the scoop I, through which it enters the bottom chamber of the cylinder P, which will be opposite the rear orifice of the scoop I. The handle Q is now pulled, which, through the flexible connection H 011 the lever H pulls down the plate 11*, and thereby. restores any skittles which may have been knocked over by the ball to their upright position. It will be seen that l the rod H slides longitudinally through the orifice H and consequently when a skittle has been knocked over and said rod is pulled there can be no hitch or jamming, which would prevent the skittle from being set upright. The release of the coin from the mechanism is accomplished while the hammer is being cooked for the first time in the manner fol1owing-that is to say, as long as the plate N is being moved to the rear by starwheel N the coin R is gripped between the rear face N of said plate and the front face M of the plate M tvhemhowever, the operathe periphery of the wheel M, the forward movement of the plate M will of course be arrested. The plate N continues, however, to move forward until,when the hammer is fully cooked, the star-wheel N takes a position similar to its initial position, as shown in Fig.

7. Consequently the distance between the faces N and M will be increased and the coin will fall from between them in to the chute E The release of the coin does not immediately prevent the hammer from being recocked, since the bar M is not in engagement with the notch M of the wheel M. Consequently no impediment is offered to the rotation of the spindle D during the operation of cooking until the said spindle has made one complete turn, after which the front end of the bar M will again engage with the notch M.

The number of times which the pistol can be discharged during one complete turn of the hammer-spindle D will depend upon the throw of the hammer. In the drawings the hammer requires to be moved through an are of about ninety degrees in order to cook it.

The ratchet-wheel D has four teeth and the cylinder P is provided with four chambers. Consequently the wheel M returns to its initial position when the hammer has been cooked and released four times, and-for one coin inserted in the mechanism four shots can be obtained. It is obvious that by making two notches in the periphery of the wheel M only two shots and by making four notches in said periphery only one shot would be obtained for every coin inserted in the mechanism; also, by increasing the number of chambers in the cylinder P concurrently with the number of teeth on the ratchet-wheel D and the number of arms on the star-wheel N and limitin g the throw of the hammer a greater number ofdischarges could be obtained for one revolution of the hammer-spindle D. Our invention is of course not restricted in this particular.

The range of movement of the pistol, owing to the ball-and-socket joint by which it is sup ported, is very considerable. This does not,

however, interfere with the reloading, owing to the shape of the scoop or ball-chute I, (clearly shown in Fig. 10,) which will receive a ball from the table J through the orifice J in any position which the pistol can assume.

In order to insure the satisfactory reloading of the pistol, we sometimes with a four-chambered pistol, as shown in the drawings, use four balls, some one or other of which will always be in the tubular portion of the scoop I, so that as soon as the cylinder P rotates, bringing an empty chamber opposite the end of the scoop, a ball will be ready to enter said chamber.

\Ve have shown our improved pistol combined with a number of skittles, against which the ball is projected when the pistol is discharged. IVe may, however, employ the same with any suitable form of target which would be located at the front end of the plate J, the resetting apparatus being dispensed with.

\Vhat we claim is 1. In a toy pistol, the combination with the barrel, of a chute having a bell-mouth and inclined bottom through which spent balls can return to the pistol, and a revoluble cylinder provided with chambers for holding balls to be projected, said chambers com municatin g in succession with the chute and with the barrel as the cylinder revolves.

2. In a toy pistol, the combination with the barrel, of a hammer for projecting balls through said barrel, a chute having a bellmouth and inclined bottom through which spent balls can return to the pistol, a revoluble cylinder provided with chambers for holding balls to be projected, and means whereby the pulling back of the hammer revolves the cylinder and causes said chambers to communicate in succession with the chute and with the barrel.

3. In a game apparatus a pivotally-mounted pistol, a target, an inclined base for said target having an orifice at the lower end thereof, and a chute secured to the pistol the open end of said chute being located immediately under the orifice in the target-base through which chute spent balls are returned into the pistol.

4. In a game apparatusapivotally-mounted pistol, an inclined base supporting a target, an orifice in the lower end of said base, and a chute mounted upon and movable with the pistol said chute having a flaring open end located immediately beneath the orifice in the target-base, andfor the purpose set forth.

5. In a game apparatus the combination of a pivotally-mounted pistol, a number of skittles, a support for said skittles, rigid rods pivotally secured to the bases of said skittles and passing loosely through orifices in the skittle-support, a plate located under said support and engaging with the ends of said rods, and means for pulling said plate vertically downward, as and for the purpose set forth.

6. In a game apparatus the combination of a pivotally-mounted pistol, a number of skittles, a support for said skittles, rigid rods pivotally secured to the bases of said skittles and passing loosely through orifices in the skittle-support, a plate located under said support and engaging with the ends of said rods, a spring-supported lever pivoted to the support, a link connecting the plate thereto, and means for rotating the lever on its pivot against the force of its supporting-spring, as and for the purpose set forth.

In testimony whereof We have signed our names to this specification in the presence of two subscribing Witnesses.

HARRY DORNING BAILEY. HARRY BROGDEN BUDGETT.

IVitnesses:

ALFRED K. GOULD, FREDERICK WILLIAM LE TALL. 

